Visiting a plant in the North East of England that converts waste into energy, Lord Henley said; “Twice as much waste comes from commerce and industry as from all households put together, so it’s critical that they play their part.”

But he echoed Secretary of State Caroline Spelman, who made clear last month that business should work voluntarily to reach an agreed targets, rather than be "tied down or penalised with excessive rules and regulations”.

Lord Henley pointed to the results of existing voluntary agreements – such as the Courtauld Commitment on grocery retail packaging and food waste – as a model for what can be achieved in the future.

The Courtauld Commitment Phase 1 finished in March this year. No final audit of its success has been published.

Phase 2 launched immediately afterwards. It has three main aims:

  • Packaging – to reduce the carbon impact of this grocery packaging by 10%.
  • Household food and waste – to reduce UK household food and drink waste by 4%.
  • Supply chain product and packaging waste – to reduce waste in the grocery supply chain by 5%.

Lord Henley said that a number of sectors were under consideration for possible voluntary responsibility deals in the future, and that there would be close cooperation and active partnership with the businesses and sectors concerned in developing the deals.

These voluntary deals will look to encourage competition between signatories to achieve the outcomes and stimulate growth and innovation cost-effectively.

“We see responsibility deals as an important part of drive towards a zero waste economy, and I hope that businesses will come forward with ideas and proposals for actions we can work together on.”

The review of waste policy, announced on 29 July, will look at what policies are needed to reduce the amount of waste generated and to maximise reuse and recycling, while also considering how waste policies affect local communities, individual households and businesses, the report will report back in Spring 2011.

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